By SIMON ROMERO

The move was expected to drive oil prices higher and stoke the political debate in the U.S. surrounding elevated gasoline prices.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Companies are now required to deduct from the bottom line the cost of stock options given to executives and employees.

By JENNIFER BAYOT and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

Jurors, including Juror No. 4, returned to the courtroom today to listen to further readings of testimony on what is now the 10th day of deliberations.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Although February's rebound wasn't as strong as the 1.5 percent increase economists were forecasting, it was still encouraging.

By PATRICK McGEEHAN

For directors of publicly traded corporations, showing up at the annual shareholders meeting is not so optional anymore.

By REED ABELSON

Ever since sweeping accounting fraud was discovered at HealthSouth a year ago, investors in the company have had to make do without audited financial statements.

By RICHARD W. STEVENSON

President Bush campaigned in Wisconsin, saying he was optimistic about the economy and urging Americans to have faith in their competitive ability.

By REUTERS

Consumer confidence edged lower in March, with Americans surveyed expressing concern about slow job creation, according to a report.

By The Associated Press.

By LAURIE J. FLYNN

Intel will pay software maker Intergraph $225 million to settle remaining claims that Intel's Itanium chip infringed the company's patents.

By Bloomberg News.

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS

The White House said the practice of exporting work overseas has little to do with the loss of jobs in the United States.

By Reuters.

By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON

WASHINGTON, March 30 - The Bush administration has scuttled a plan to increase by 50 percent the number of criminal financial investigators working to disrupt the finances of Al Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorist organizations to save $12 million, a Congressional hearing was told on Tuesday.

By REUTERS

tocks closed higher yesterday, lifting the major market indexes to three-week highs, as investors anticipated a positive jobs report later this week and solid results in the coming first-quarter earnings season.

CHICAGO, March 30 (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc. said on Tuesday that its chairman would run the company temporarily because the chief executive, Roger K. Deromedi, was admitted to a hospital last weekend with an undiagnosed medical condition.

By DON PHILLIPS

Freight congestion has spread across the Union Pacific railroad system, especially in Southern California and the Southwest.

By SHARON WAXMAN

After many years of sticking to midrange budgets and lesser-known stars, Paramount Pictures is on a mission to turn things around.

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ and STUART ELLIOTT

The N.A.A.C.P. and lawmakers from both parties are complaining that proposed changes in how Nielsen gathers local television ratings will drastically undercount the number of black and Hispanic viewers.

American Express.

By JACQUES STEINBERG

Clear Channel Radio will begin to syndicate Mr. Jackson as the host of a weekly broadcast, where the Reverend plans to examine contemporary issues.

By JACQUES STEINBERG

Air America, which makes its debut on Wednesday with Al Franken at the microphone, intends to challenge the hegemony of conservatives on commercial talk radio.

By FRANK J. PRIAL

Alistair Cooke, the urbane and erudite journalist who was a peerless observer of the American scene for almost 70 years, died today.

By JESSE McKINLEY

To avoid another strike on Broadway, Actors' Equity and the League of American Theaters and Producers have to come to terms with the problem of non-Equity tours of Broadway shows.

By FRANK J. PRIAL

Alistair Cooke was the urbane and erudite British-born journalist who was a peerless observer of the American scene for almost 70 years.

By HEATHER TIMMONS

The U.S.-led occupation in Iraq has enlisted a British public relations firm to help promote the establishment of democracy in the country.

By MARCIA CHAMBERS

N.C.A.A. rules prohibit a university from using an athlete's name or image to promote a commercial venture, so universities have been using jersey numbers.

By LARRY ROHTER

The nascent recovery that has lifted the Argentine economy over the last year is being threatened by a shortage of electricity and gas.

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Today in Africa, we are facing a test of our ability to stop civil wars and avert genocides and failing it.

By FLOYD NORRIS

European companies should not have to file quarterly financial statements, the European Parliament decided.

By HEATHER TIMMONS

Solomon D. Trujillo, the former chief of the US West regional phone company, is stepping down as head of Orange, the wireless arm of France Télécom.

By MARK LANDLER

The music industry announced legal action against 247 people accused of illegal file-sharing outside the United States, taking its war against Internet piracy abroad for the first time.

By BERNARD SIMON

A revolt among investors over a takeover bid is the latest sign that a long tradition of politeness toward corporate directors north of the border is eroding.

By ELAINE SCIOLINO

Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, it seems, thinks that Spain should have a sexual and social revolution.

By TERRY PRISTIN

In recent years, Winter Park has deteriorated as many of its competitors were bought by large corporations. That is starting to change.

By RACHELLE GARBARINE

In the largest deal in recent years in Franklin Township, one of the weakest office markets in New Jersey, a major benefit-services provider will relocate to 147,000 square feet of space.